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This is a rowboat i drew and constructed some years ago, with the purpose of doing leisurely rowing on a lake. Now i am thinking of adding a small sail to her for some fun. The sail i have in mind is an optimist sail which can be readily found.
I tried to look into many parameters of performance to get a feel for whether she would sail and how. But i got lost as most parameters are for real sailboats of much higher figures. If you can call this a sailboat then her ratios are truly all over the place.
The figures i can provide are as follows: LWL 16.4 ft Max beam 3.28 ft. optimist sail area 35.52 sq ft. Hull weight 120 lb. Displ including myself 285 lb. SA/displ ratio 13.12 Displ/LWL ratio 28.84 Considering sail power adequacy she would be worse than a heavy cruiser. Considering Displ/ LWL she would be ten times better than an ultra racer.
Hull form is not suitable for planing, yet so easily driven that i can row her at 4.5 knots over extended periods. So everything about this proposition are in extremes and do not conform to what we are accustomed to.
Of course I need to add a transom hung rudder, and modify the keel by inserting a shallow piece one third length of the total LWL. ( i need shoal draft) You can read this as no efficient dagger board and no stability contribution by it. Stability shall be provided by yours truly leaning to one side or the other.
What do you think?
Is it worth trying? Would she sail? Would she go higher than a beam reach? Would it be fun? Would it be the end of the boat and myself if i got cought in a blow?
